THE ICEMAN - Review

The Iceman

Thriller, 2013
1 hour, 46 minutes
Written by Ariel Vromen and Morgan Land
Directed by Ariel Vromen

Starring
Michael Shannon
Winona Ryder
Chris Evans
Ray Liotta
James Franco
David Schwimmer
Stephen Dorff


Can we please give Michael Shannon the respect that he deserves? I've never seen him give a bad performance, or even a mediocre one. He consistently gives it his all, and The Iceman is no exception.
The film is based on a true story about a man named Richard Kuklinski. Kuklinski kills people for money for the mob. Pretty simple stuff as far as plot goes. It's basically a straightforward biographical film about a guy who supposedly killed over a hundred people for the mob.
Truthfully, there isn't anything terribly special about The Iceman. It's fairly simple. The writing isn't that bad and the performances are very solid, including a welcome turn for Winona Ryder who is just never in anything anymore. She's alright in this. James Franco is in it and does nothing for like 5 minutes. Ray Liotta plays a gangster who does a lot of sitting in cars (just like Killing Them Softly, and The Place Beyond the Pines. Seriously, he just plays a bad guy who sits in cars all the time.) One thing I was really impressed with was Chris Evans, who is unrecognizable as an associate of Kuklinski's. Sure, he's good looking and he plays Captain America, but damn he can really pull off dark drama.
Overall, the only thing that this movie does really well is it's acting. It's good, not anything amazing, but I think it's worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of Michael Shannon. It's at least entertaining, and in the end, isn't that what movies are all about?

7/10